Fine I-drive Steakhouse Quite A Juicy Find

July 15, 1999|By Scott Joseph Sentinel Restaurant Critic

If I say the name Vito's Chop House, what sort of an image does that conjure up in your mind?

What if I tell you it's on International Drive?

I'll bet you have the same mental picture I had. I was thinking the host would be dressed in pinstripes with white spats on his shoes. The waiters would be in speakeasy gambler's attire with garter armbands on their white shirt sleeves. There would be red and white checkered tablecloths and candle-caked Chianti bottles. Is that the sort of image you were thinking of?

Boy, were we wrong.

Vito's Chop House is a first-rate operation, a high-end steakhouse with a touch of Tuscany.

The atmosphere is masculine but comfortable, the service is practiced and sure, and the steaks are of the finest quality and a size that will have you requesting a takeout container before they're even placed in front of you.

I'm sure I was quite speechless when my server brought the porterhouse veal chop ($22.95), and let's just forget that it was the Sicilian veal chop ($18.95) I had actually ordered. Even the menu description ``double thick'' doesn't prepare you for the size of this thing, which was 31/2 inches on one end.

And the fact that every bit of it was as tender as veal should be tells you something about the quality.

With a chop that thick, it's difficult to get the right temperature, so my medium-rare chop ranged from medium on the outside to rare on the inside. Never mind - it was all delicious.

So was the prime ribeye ($22.95), which was cooked perfectly to order with a crispy charred crust on the outside and a red interior. The aged steak had plenty of natural flavor enhanced by the smoky taste of the oak and orange wood-fired grill.

The lamb T-bone chops ($17.95) had more meat on them than most lamb chops. They were thicker too, and also had that wonderfully smoky taste, which made the mint jelly superfluous.

Only the sesame encrusted tuna ($19.95) was a disappointment, but not because of the quality of the fish. This was a thick, sushi-grade slab of tuna, every bit as impressive in size and quality as its ``turf'' counterparts.

The fish was seared so the meat was still red and rare. But unfortunately, the sesame crust was also dotted with lots of large cracked peppercorns. Each bite brought only hot pepper, which overwhelmed the tuna.

Side dishes are extra, although dinners come with a house salad (not to mention some delicious hot bread). The salad was an ample plate of fresh lettuce with garbanzo beans, tomatoes and calamata olives. Don't bother upgrading to the Caesar ($3.50). Even the anchovies couldn't counter this overdressed pretender.

Among the side dishes, I sampled the giant baked potato ($2.50), a good spud, though I've seen gianter, and the jumbo asparagus ($5.95), which were delicious despite the thick stems.

I liked the sauteed mushrooms, too, but how they came up with $5.95 as a fair price is beyond me.

Key lime pie ($5.95) was the best of the desserts I sampled. The tart taste was perfect with the graham cracker crust (no topping, thank you). The grilled peaches d'Vito ($6.95) were OK, though the best part of the canned peaches and pound cake concoction was the heavy whipped cream.

By the way, there is a wonderful wine list, though by-the-glass selections could be expanded.

If there is one complaint with service, it's that it tended to be a bit chatty and a little too geared toward tourists. (So are you folks from around here?'') But I have no fault with the obvious training that puts an emphasis on customer satisfaction.

Whether there was a real Vito is unclear. An introduction on the front of the menu suggests as much, stating that he cut steaks for some of New York's most popular steakhouses. But a manager couldn't say for a fact that he exists. Doesn't matter.

You're just going to have to go see it - and taste it - for yourself. Vito's should immediately take its place among the area's other fine steakhouses.

The restaurant is at 8633 International Drive in Orlando. Phone: (407) 354-2467. Hours are 5 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations are recommended.